Saturday, April 28, 2007

Icarus, Sapphyre, Megattack reviews

Icarus - Busca y Encontrarás Demo CD (Independent)When I first listened to White Lion's song titled "El Salvador", I never expected that one day I'll review an album from a native band. To my big surprise, Icarus come from El Salvador and "Busca y Encontrarás" is their debut demo. The band was formed in 2000 and after 6 years they managed to release their first effort. Judging from the 5 tracks that appear in the demo, I think that the band deserves to be in the public eye. Power Metal with Progressive musical touches is met here, while the guitars and the melodic keyboard parts make the atmosphere bombastic at times. If I got it right, the band seems to have a White Metal destination since 2003 and the lyrics are completely sung in Spanish with Guillermo Esquivel's decent voice keeping the quality of this release. All tracks are pretty much on the same level, but a mentionable moment is definitely the song "Hijo" with the folk-influenced intro and the vocals handled by drummer Samuel Cardona. Icarus are not past masters in the Salvadorian Metal scene, but their debut is mature enough, so I think that pretty soon the band will be offered a record contract! I really wish to have a full length album from them soon! You can get info on how you can obtain their demo by visiting their profile at: http://www.myspace.com/icarus7 and don't forget to send them my greetings! Hola guys!Dimitris Starakis

Sapphyre – Through The Motions Demo CD (Independent)I knew nothing about Sapphyre until my good friend Theodosis Moiras (http://www.myspace.com/theodosismiras) from Secret Port Records informed me about their existence. The band was formed in 2004 and one year later they released their first demo CD "Through The Motions". I was happy to witness five pretty emotional Progressive Metal songs in the demo, something that was obvious since the lead vocals are handled by Leonidas Hatzimichalis. Leonidas is a well-known singer in the Greek Underground scene, having played with bands like Fata Morgana and Equal Vector and can be easily considered as Greece's answer to Ray Alder! His deep, emotional and "sweet" voice gives intensity to the songs, while the orchestrations are quite well-built. "Living The Dying" and "Flying (Away From Here)" seem to have been inspired by Fates Warning ("Inside Out" and "Perfect Symmetry" era), with wonderful melodies written by Dimitris Drisas and definitely are my top picks! There's also a cover version of Pavlo's Dog classic "Late November", with the result being satisfactory (everyone knows how hard is for someone to cover such high-pitched vocals!). If there's a knock on the band, it's the poor production, but don't neglect the fact that this is a demo release, so keep that in my mind. Check the band's profile (www.myspace.com/sapphyregr) and order also the demo from Secret Port's mail – order:http://www.truemetal.org/secretport/main.php?act=mailorderDimitris Starakis

Megattack – Save The Nations CD (Raw Delivery Records)Megattack is not a novice band. Many moons ago, back in 1986, the band released their debut LP titled Raw Delivery and they went under the spotlight by selling more than 500.000 copies. Everything was perfect for them, but unfortunately the band split up, ending pretty soon a career that could have been glorious. But since old habits die hard, the band returned to action after 19 years with an album that quite surprised me! First of all, many claim that "Hair Metal" is the best phrased to describe Megattack's music. Well, I am totally against that opinion. Megattack play Heavy Metal from the heart, with strong, catchy melodies and memorable choruses to fill the songs. They are raw at times and that happens mainly because of Rick Jackson's harsh and solid voice. I'm sure that songs like "Atomaton", "Save The Nations", "Watching You", "Where Do We Go Now" and "Earthshaker" will make any Metal fan pound hard! I am also pretty satisfied to witness a worth-mentioning guitar effort in the album, done by Megattack's axemen Jake Ozlo and Parrish Hultquist. "Save The Nations" took 19 years to bring the band's name on the front page again, but better late than ever! I'm sure that Megattack fill the bill of every one who like's Heavy Metal as it is really meant to be performed! Godspeed guys and please, don't let us wait for another 19 years to have a new album of yours! You can buy "Save The Nations by visiting Megattack's mySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/megattackDimitris Starakis